


it's only you that matters

by togetherwecouldbealright



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M, anyways happy hallouisween everyone, what about it, yes the first scene is completely based off High School Musical
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-31
Updated: 2014-10-31
Packaged: 2018-02-23 07:11:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2538923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/togetherwecouldbealright/pseuds/togetherwecouldbealright
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i> “I never used to care for Halloween, but now it’s my favorite holiday and, fuck, there’s no one else to blame except for you. You’ve made not only Halloween, but every day of the year better for me because I get to spend each and every one of them with you.” </i> </p><p>The one where Harry and Louis meet on Halloween and Halloween somehow becomes their thing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	it's only you that matters

**Author's Note:**

> There's not much to say for myself except that as I'm typing this I should be typing an APUSH essay yet here I am...
> 
> Okay, but on a serious note, this is for Nina, who's one of the best people I know and I love her infinite amounts for being my rock. Happy belated birthday Nina. <3
> 
> Thank you to my beta Zahra for being great and thank you to everyone who else got me through my awful writer's block (Holly and Ivana). Happy Halloween everyone and go listen to Fireproof because this fic is almost entirely written because of that life ruining song.
> 
> Title from 'Wild Heart' by Bleachers which my friend helped me find.

The first time they meet is at a party.

It’s Halloween and Louis is dressed as a demon. He’s kind of sad that he can’t actually move his fake tail back and forth, but it is what it is.

If he’s being honest the only reason he’s in this costume was because it took minimal effort—all he had to do was find a set of plastic horns, a tail, and a dramatic red cape. The rest of his outfit is relatively normal, considering it’s a simple black shirt and a pair of black jeans that could easily pass as leggings.

Louis also has a pitchfork he forced Stan to get for him and he’s having a fun time poking people with it, although he’s afraid someone might try to stab him back with an actual knife.

The party is being thrown by a bloke that’s in the year beneath him in college, Niall Horan. Louis doesn’t know him _that_ well, but they get on well enough and Stan seems to like him, so Louis figures that’s alright.

That, and his only other option was sitting at home and handing out candy to anyone who stopped by. After seventeen years of doing that or taking his sisters trick or treating, he thinks he’d much rather settle for attending a lame Halloween party instead.

“Oi, Louis!” someone calls.

Louis turns around from where he's watching a rather pathetic attempt at beer pong and grins when he sees Stan in his vampire costume. He picks up his own beer off the counter and walks over to him, outside of the kitchen. “Stan, you have to see this. These poor fifteen year olds are trying to—”

Stan makes a face before shaking his head. “Nah, mate, I’m good, thanks. I was actually calling you because Horan wants to do some event and insisted I get everyone I know to move to the basement.”

“An event?” Louis repeats with a snort before shrugging and fixing his horns. “Lead the way then.”

By the time they make it to the basement, it’s overcrowded and it smells of sweaty teenagers. Most of them are still in secondary school and thus far, Louis absolutely hates them. To prove this, Louis rolls his eyes at Stan, who just shrugs and pushes them further into the crowd.

They’re not too far from the stage in the basement when Niall speaks up. “Hey everyone, thanks for coming! I hope you’re all enjoying yourselves so far!”

Louis snorts again and a few people cast him dirty looks. He just smiles at them in response and raises his pitchfork pointedly. That only makes the number of glares grow, but Louis doesn’t really care. He is a demon, after all.

Niall’s still speaking, saying something about having the entire night planned out, but Louis isn’t really listening, is too busy wondering whether there’s any other upperclassmen he can bother.

Louis tunes in just in time to hear, “So we’re going to pick randomly! Hit it, Josh!”

Suddenly there’s two spotlights flying around the room and Louis has to squint to keep from being blinded. He’s not sure why Niall’s got spotlights in his basement but the Irish bloke is rather strange, he decides that’s something he won’t question.

Despite being at his party, Louis doesn’t really know all that much about Niall. All he knows is that he’s a very musical person – hence the stage in his basement – and when Louis takes the effort to look a little closer, he sees a few guitars hanging on the wall near the lad.

The spotlights fly around the room for half a minute before they start to slow down and Louis is about to ask Stan what they’re for when one of them lands on him and doesn’t move.

Louis holds a hand over his face in confusion, a failed attempt to block out the light as Stan starts laughing loudly beside him.

“Good luck up there, Tommo,” Stan shouts over the cheers suddenly filling the room, and suddenly the entire crowd is pushing him forward, toward the stage.

“Stan, what the fuck?” Louis calls, not receiving a reply that he can hear.

Suddenly he’s on stage and Niall’s standing beside him, clapping a hand on his shoulder. He only has one moment to stare incredulously at him before another boy stumbles on stage, looking as confused as he is.

And that's when Louis really takes a look at the boy and swears he’s in love.

The boy is dressed as an angel, a little plastic halo over his head and large white wings attached to his back. He’s got short brown curls, green eyes that seem to sparkle beneath the fluorescent lights, and pretty pink lips that he’s biting uncertainly as he eyes Niall with distrust.

“Alright, so we have a Harry Styles dressed as an angel and we have a Louis Tomlinson dressed as—are you fucking kidding me?” Niall stops short, his lips parting in disbelief before he suddenly bursts into laughter, everyone in the room following. It seems to startle the poor boy dressed as an angel so much that he bumps into Louis on accident.

“Oops,” the curly haired boy—Harry, Louis amends in his head—mumbles, blushing in earnest now and ducking his head as he plays with the few bracelets he’s wearing on his wrist.

Louis offers him a comforting smile, hoping to make the boy feel at ease. “Hi.”

The moment is over just as quickly, though, when he registers that Niall is still laughing.

“Did you two plan this?” Niall asks incredulously, reaching over to tweak one of Harry’s wings. Louis glowers at him, feeling an irrational surge of jealousy over a boy he’s not even properly met yet. “Angel and demon? Really? Are you guys together?”

Despite being practical strangers, he still pokes Niall a little roughly with his pitchfork. “No, we didn’t plan it, and _no_ , we aren’t together. Now why the hell am I standing on this stage?”

Niall makes a pained noise, rubbing his arm before his eyes brighten considerably. “Oh, right, karaoke!”

“Kara—what?” Louis repeats, giving Niall a dubious look that the blond boy completely ignores in favor of gesturing towards someone in the back of the room. And suddenly, music starts playing.

Louis’ eyes widen and he grips tightly onto the younger boy’s arm, protests, “I can’t sing, Niall!”

“Good luck lads!” Niall says in reply, handing Louis his microphone and grinning mischievously as he jumps off stage. “You’ll thank me one day!”

Louis doesn’t recognize the song but when he looks on the screen, the lyrics are already there. And Louis Tomlinson has never been one to just back down from a challenge, which is why his grip tightens around the microphone and he leans forward, wincing slightly.

“We’re a thousand miles from comfort, we have traveled land and sea… but as long you are with me, there’s no place I’d rather be,” Louis sings quietly, fighting back a grimace as he glances over at Harry, who’s still biting his lip and playing with his shirt sleeve.

For a second he thinks that’s going to be it, but then Harry steps forward, leaning towards the mic and a new voice fills the room, “I would wait forever, exalted in the scene… as long as I am with you, my heart continues to beat.”

Louis is speechless for a minute because Harry—he’s _amazing_. His voice resonates deep in Louis’ chest and he’s tempted to press his fingers into Harry’s diaphragm, to feel the way he sings.

He realizes belatedly that Harry’s still singing and that the next part is one of his lines, so he opens up his mouth to sing, “We’re different and the same, get you another name, switch up the batteries.”

When Harry joins in for the chorus, Louis swears he feels something _spark_ inside of himself and it’s weird, but with Harry on this stage he suddenly feels at home. “If you gave me a chance, I would take it, it’s a shot in the dark but I’ll make it.”

Harry’s smiling now, even though he’s still looking at his feet, and Louis suddenly feels courageous, taking his microphone off the stand so he can step closer to Harry.

“Know with all of your heart, you can’t shake me,” Louis sings softly. Harry looks to the side, still smiling and Louis wiggles his eyebrows suggestively, aiming to get some sort of reaction out of the curly haired boy.

It works because Harry laughs in reply, clearly startled yet still somehow managing to pull himself together to sing the final lines of the chorus with Louis, “When I’m with you, there’s no place I’d rather be… no, no, no, no, no place I’d rather be.”

As the second verse comes around, Louis finds himself untying the cape around his shoulders and throwing it into the crowd. It startles another soft giggle out of Harry, his bright eyes twinkling with mirth.

“We staked out on a mission to find our inner peace,” Harry sings, taking his own microphone off the stand so he can turn to Louis. “Make it everlasting so nothing’s incomplete.”

Louis grins, reaching out to tweak one of Harry’s wings with his free hand, watching the way Harry makes a disgruntled face that’s far too cute. “It’s easy being with you, sacred simplicity. As long as we’re together, there’s no place I’d rather be.”

This time when Louis launches into the chorus, it’s with Harry’s eyes on his and a smile on both of their faces. Louis doesn’t want to sound full of himself, but he doesn’t know if he’s ever heard a sound better than their voices together, harmonizing.

Louis thinks the song is right; it’s easy being with Harry.

He’s vaguely aware of the whole crowd cheering, but it barely registers because everything is suddenly Harry; he’s completely encompassing and Louis doesn’t think he’s ever clicked with a person like this before.

By the time song ends, Louis is out of breath and somehow so in love.

Harry’s cheeks are flushed pink and he’s smiling so wide that there are dimples pressing into them. There’s an almost cherubic quality to him and Louis thinks it fits; Harry is dressed as an angel after all.

Louis is about to say something, maybe even reintroduce himself, when there’s a hand tugging on his wrist. Louis turns around and finds Stan standing there with a knowing grin on his face.

“Don’t say a single word,” Louis hisses. He turns back to Harry, but then the curly haired boy is gone and Louis has to take a moment to blink at the empty stage before it registers to him to look to the crowd.

But even in the crowd, he doesn’t see white wings anywhere and by the time Niall hops back on stage, Louis feels rather defeated.

“Where did Harry go?” Louis asks him.

Niall shrugs, gesturing widely to the room, which is so unhelpful that Louis stabs him with his pitchfork again.

Stan throws an arm around his shoulder and Louis resists the urge to shake it off, instead glaring at his best friend who grins in return. “It’s alright, Lou. If you’re written in the stars, I’m sure you’ll meet again.”

Louis scowls, muttering, “Shut the fuck up,” before tossing his horns onto the stage and marching off.

He doesn’t know it then, but Stan’s right.

✿ ✿ ✿

Louis loves campus. He really does.

It’s nice and the people at his uni are always friendly enough to lend a hand when necessary -- although when Louis _does_ find himself in trouble, he usually just gives Zayn a call.

Either way, Louis prides himself on being one of the friendly people on campus, which is why when he sees some bloke standing with his arm stuck inside a vending machine, he at least _tries_ to hold in his laughter.

He fails, but he’s sure all that matters is that he tried.

The person who’s on their knees looks over and Louis’ laughter dies immediately.

It’s been three years but he would recognize those green eyes nearly anywhere. It’s Harry Styles, from the Best Turned Worst Halloween party ever, and Louis is even more in love than he was then.

“Don’t laugh at me,” Harry complains, pouting and tugging his arm harder. He winces almost immediately and Louis finds himself on his knees in seconds, wrapping his fingers around Harry’s arm and stopping him.

“Sorry,” Louis apologizes quietly, hoping he’s not too flustered as he gestures toward the vending machine with his other hand. “Do you want some help?”

Harry nods quickly and Louis almost smiles as he leans down so he can see where Harry’s arm’s gotten stuck. It turns out that he can’t even see _where_ it got stuck, and he has a feeling that he and Harry are going to be sitting here for a while.

“Does it hurt a lot?” Louis wonders, frowning slightly at the way Harry winces again when he shakes his head. “Have you been here for a long time?”

“Ten minutes,” Harry answers before sighing heavily and sitting down completely, his legs splayed out in front of him.

He looks different—well, different from the fifteen year old Louis met at a Halloween party three years ago, anyway.

After the party, Louis did his research (which consisted mostly of threatening Niall’s life) to find out more about Harry. And what he found out was that the boy was in his last year of secondary school, fifteen years old, had one sister, and that he was Niall’s best friend.

It turned out to be of no use because suddenly swarmed with exams, Louis almost completely forgot about him, and by the time his mum told him that they were moving from Cheshire to Doncaster for the rest of his last year in college, he’d all but forgotten.

He does remember eventually, but then it’s too late and he’s in university in London; far, far away from the small town in Cheshire he used to call home.

Louis doesn’t forget Harry though—remembers him in random fleeting moments that creep up on him. Wonders if Harry was the one who got away.

It seems like a twist of fate is making it so Louis finds Harry again. He’s not complaining.

Harry’s older now, presumably eighteen with the same green eyes, but there’s a lot that’s different. He’s taller and lankier, with a defined jawline and plush pink lips. His hair is still curly, but it’s longer and tied back by a headscarf the color of roses. Speaking of roses, a tattoo of one peaks over the side of Harry’s left elbow.

He’s got a lot of tattoos actually. Dozens. Louis’ not much different, although, oddly enough, his are mostly on his right side whereas Harry’s are on his left.

Louis sees a tattoo of ‘ _I CAN’T CHANGE_ ’ on Harry’s wrist, opposite to where Louis has his own quotation marks and wonders if they have them for the same reasons. He also wonders how it’s possible to be this in love with someone without knowing them.

It occurs to Louis that he’s been staring for a while now and when he blinks up at Harry, the curly haired boy is watching him curiously.

“Sorry,” Louis apologizes, letting go of Harry’s arm from when he grabbed it before. Quickly trying to change the subject before Harry asks questions, he counters with his own, “What were you even trying to get?”

Harry bites his bottom lip, cheeks dusted a light pink color, and Louis briefly thinks that he would love to be responsible for Harry’s cheeks flushing.

He gets rid of that thought quickly, just as Harry mumbles, “I just wanted fruit snacks. Is that a crime?”

Louis laughs sharply in surprise, but immediately covers his mouth when Harry pouts at him, looking further distressed. “No, love,” he reassure, though his voice is oddly pitched as he tries to hold in his laughter. _Fruit snacks_. Honestly. “It’s not a crime. We’ll get your arm and your fruit snacks out, yeah?”

“You’re a bit of an arsehole, aren’t you?” Harry mutters, still pouting.

Louis grins wolfishly. “Just a bit,” he agrees, reaching past the flap of the vending machine to find Harry’s hand and his fingers brush against Harry’s wrist. “Were the fruit snacks worth it?”

Harry sighs before begrudgingly shaking his head and Louis smirks at him, fingers tightening on his wrist and tugging lightly. Harry’s reaction is to cringe so Louis stops immediately, frowning because he doesn’t want to hurt Harry.

“Alright, I’m going to try to press down on whatever’s keeping your wrist stuck and I want you to pull your hand out, okay?” Louis instructs, praying he doesn’t wind up getting his own arm stuck inside the vending machine because that’s a whole new low, even for him.

At first he doesn’t think Harry’s going to agree, but then he nods. Louis moves to do it, but just before he can, Harry clears his throat and Louis falters, pausing to give him a confused look.

“My arm isn’t going to like—come off, right? If this doesn’t work?” Harry checks, looking earnestly worried and Louis refrains from doing something stupid like kissing him.

“I highly doubt it, love. If it does, you can have mine,” Louis assures. It seems to do the trick because Harry smiles slightly before nodding.

Louis reaches into the machine and takes a deep breath before pushing up on whatever it is that’s keeping Harry’s arm captive.

For a split second, Louis is worried, but then Harry pulls his arm out. Quickly Louis snatches his own arm back, so as to not get stuck himself.

Harry is grinning brightly now, a sight that rivals the stars. “You’re a lifesaver.”

Louis smiles back before shaking his head. “I’m not done yet.”

His smile only grows at Harry’s confused expression and he winks as he stands up and pulls crumpled bill out of his pocket and inserts it in the machine. He pushes in the numbers that match the brand of fruit snacks he saw stuck in the machine and amazingly enough, when the packet falls down, it hits the original packet on the way and they both end up behind the flap.

“Oh my God, I think I’m in love with you,” Harry announces, reaching in for both packets.

Louis ignores the way his heart skips a beat, how something flutters in his stomach.

“The feeling’s mutual,” he replies softly, unable to help his smile at the pure unadulterated glee on Harry’s face. In the back of his mind, he thinks that Harry has no idea how true that is.

✿ ✿ ✿

Louis is never going to see Harry again. It’s rather obvious because it’s been about a week and he’s seen no sign of the younger boy and it’s clear that fate is fucking with him.

Zayn seems to hold no ounce of pity for him, just staring at Louis through his eyelashes with contempt before going back to his homework.

“You don’t understand, he’s my _soulmate_ ,” Louis insists one afternoon when they’re both heading to the cafeteria.

“You’ve met him twice,” Zayn deadpans, unamused, as he slips his arms through the sleeves of his leather jacket. Louis kind of hates him because he could be an actual model. It’s incredibly rude.

He sighs dramatically, tugging self-consciously on his jumper sleeve and pulling it over his wrist. “Zayn, you don’t understand. I just _know_ we’re soulmates.”

Zayn snorts, but there’s a soft smile on his face that Louis knows is reserved for the people closest to Zayn, including himself. “Alright babe, whatever you say.”

With a sigh, Louis reaches for an empty tray and slides one over to Zayn as he stands in the line. Louis actually doesn’t mind the food that the cafeteria provides, even if it is a little overpriced. It’s better than junking out every day (a lesson he learned the hard way).

“I think the thing I hate most about this cafeteria is standing in line,” Louis admits, smiling saccharinely when the girl in front of him turns to glare at him. “I’ve been at this hellhole for three years, I think I deserve to be in the front of this line.”

“I think you’re a bit in over your head there,” Zayn replies, shaking his head slightly and reaching ahead of Louis to grab an apple.

Louis scowls at him before huffing, “I’m just saying, I don’t know why I can’t just cut the entire line—”

“That would be breaking the rules though,” someone interjects from behind them and Louis turns to snap at them, but the words die in his throat when he sees sparkling green eyes and rose colored lips.

It’s possible that Louis isn’t breathing anymore and that’s the main reason why he doesn’t yell at Zayn when the younger boy roughly whacks him on the back. “Lou _is_ , you alright?”

“Just—fine,” Louis wheezes, pushing Zayn’s arms away from him and getting a grip of himself just in time to smirk in Harry’s direction. “Maybe I like breaking the rules.”

He can feel Zayn’s curious gaze on his back, but his best friend is nice enough not to do anything else aside from shrug and walk ahead of him, grabbing a water bottle as he does.

Harry smiles back at him, tilting his head and watching him with sparkling eyes before gesturing toward the line. “How is it that you’re complaining about being in line when you’re the one holding it up?” he wonders, clearly teasing.

“Well,” Louis starts, and then realizes immediately that he has no idea where he’s going with that sentence, so he finishes with, “Yeah.”

Harry raises an eyebrow, but a giggle spills from his lips and Louis is so incredibly enamored that he forgets what they were even talking about. That’s when Harry’s hands come up to lightly shove at his chest and Louis feels short of breath as he takes a few steps back.

In a different world, Harry’s hands are pushing him back into a wall, lips raw and bruised from kissing the entire night long.

This isn’t that world and Louis’ just bumped into that same girl from before who glares at him even harsher while Harry giggles sweetly in front of him.

“Sorry,” Louis apologizes hastily. She grumbles something in return and turns back around.

Harry’s laughing quietly in front of him and Louis just scowls at him before pointedly turning his back on the curly haired boy, grabbing whichever food item that’s closest to him. It turns out to be a banana. Louis doesn’t even _like_ bananas.

It turns out not to be that much of a problem because it’s in his hands for all of five seconds before someone takes it from him and Louis _knows_ it’s Harry, but he refuses to turn around. So he doesn’t.

Well, at least until he hears the sound of someone peeling a banana.

“What are you _doing_?” Louis asks incredulously when he turns to see Harry raising the banana to his lips. “You didn’t even pay for that!”

Harry shrugs before half the banana disappears in his mouth and Louis is simply speechless.

By the time Harry finishes swallowing, Louis is an entirely new person who needs to leave the cafeteria in the next five seconds if he wants to live the next two years on campus with his dignity.

“I—I have to go,” Louis stammers when Harry moves to take another bite. He turns on his heel and abruptly walks away from the line, finding it slightly difficult to breathe normally.

“Hey! I didn’t even catch your name!” Harry calls after him, sounding distraught, and Louis doesn’t blame him because the last time they met, Louis did the exact same thing; he’d spewed out a lie about being late to his class and practically running away (because Harry was staring at him with lovely green eyes and a beautiful smile and Louis was falling more in love than he had any right to be).

This boy—this practical stranger—shouldn’t affect him like this, but somehow he _does_ and Louis has no idea what he’s supposed to do about it.

✿ ✿ ✿

Louis’ sleeping off a hangover in the back of his Financial Accounting lecture when someone sits down next to him, dragging the chair forward so that there’s a loud squealing noise that jolts Louis from his dreams of soft brown curls and rosy red cheeks.

“Was that really necessary?” Louis snaps without lifting his head from the desk.

He doesn’t get a reply and wonders briefly if the person expects him to actually look at them, because if so, they’re going to be severely disappointed.

Louis quickly forgets about it though, settling his head comfortably into his arms again. He gets a whole five minutes of peace before a rolled up piece of paper hits the back of his head.

The person next to him makes a _pssst_ noise and Louis is close to considering murder as his next option.

Reluctantly, Louis picks up the paper from where it’s resting on his shoulder blades, but he still doesn’t lift his head, choosing instead to move slightly to the side so he can read the note under the desk.

_My name’s Harry :) .x_

It takes a minute for that to settle in and then Louis’ head shoots up so fast he nearly snaps his neck, eyes wide as he turns to look to the side where a smiling Harry is watching him.

“You’re not in this class,” Louis says slowly, hoping his voice doesn’t crack. He’s far too hungover to be dealing with Harry Styles at eight in the morning.

“So what’s your name?” Harry asks instead, completely _ignoring_ what Louis just said.

Louis narrows his eyes at him and winces a little when it increases the pounding in his head. “Why are you here? You’re _not_ in this class,” he repeats a little more forcefully.

Harry pouts a little, poking Louis’ arm. Louis absolutely refuses to acknowledge that his touch leaves goosebumps hidden by the sleeve of his jumper. It’s mid-September, maybe Louis can pass it off as him being cold. Also, maybe a black hole can appear in the universe and suck him in so he doesn’t die of embarrassment.

He’s a bit startled when Harry starts speaking, “It’s my mate Niall’s class, but he had a bit of a wild night out and told me he couldn’t deal with me this early in the morning, so I should just go to his class and pretend to be him.”

 _Niall_. The name sparks a memory in his mind and a blond boy with an affinity for music comes to mind.

Louis wonders if the blond boy remembers him and whether Harry’s asked Niall about him—but then he remembers that Harry wouldn’t be able to do that because he doesn’t even know Louis’ name.

“What makes you think _I_ can deal with you this early in the morning?” Louis wonders, fixing Harry with a skeptical look.

It only makes Harry’s pout deepen as he mumbles, “ _Heeeey_ , I’m not that bad.”

Louis offers him a short smile before patting his hand lightly (and ignoring the way it stirs up a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach). “You keep telling yourself that, darling.”

Harry is all too endearing for this time of the day and Louis is already head over heels for him so it’s probably best for him to leave before this gets any worse.

That’s why Louis picks his bag up, sliding one of the straps over his shoulder before standing up and walking toward the stairs so he can leave and maybe bribe Zayn to make him breakfast (at the very least some tea).

He makes it all the way to the door without looking back, but he just can’t help one last glance back. He sees Harry watching him, head tilted and lips spread into a smile, for some reason unknown to Louis.

✿ ✿ ✿

Very few things matter more to Louis than sleep and coffee. Among those things are his family, his best friends, his phone, and occasionally a really good sandwich.

Despite that, sleep and coffee are still very high on the list, which is why the coffee shop hidden between the library and the English hall is his favorite place in the world.

His friend Liam works there and while Louis always has to pay for his coffee, there’s a couch in the back that’s perfect to take a nap on. It practically _belongs_ to Louis at this point because no one else even dares to sit on it.

(There’s also the fact that basically no one ever comes to this coffee shop when there’s one right in the middle of campus; no, only the regulars come here. Louis can list them all off the top of his head; there’s Jade, Oli, Aiden, Lauren, Matt, and Abigail. That’s it, other than the occasional stranger that finds their safe haven).

Louis is sitting on his couch finishing up the last bit of his English Composition homework when he hears the telltale ringing of the bell above the door that signals someone’s just come in. It’s raining rather hard outside so he didn’t think anyone would come in anytime soon, but apparently he was wrong to think that.

Liam’s on his break and there’s no one else in the coffee shop aside from him and Abigail, who’s asleep with her head on the table, and he doesn’t plan on waking her up because he knows she rarely gets to sleep as it is.

He sighs quietly and sets his laptop to the side before making his way to the counter and putting on an apron to make himself seem at least a little bit professional.

The person who came in is still at the door, the hood of his jumper hiding most of his features and all Louis can tell is that he’s tall, lanky, and that he’s got nice legs.

Louis busies himself with washing his hands and by the time he comes back, the person is standing in front of the counter with their hood down.

And it’s Harry Styles.

“Liam!” Harry exclaims cheerfully. Louis furrows his eyebrows at him in confusion until Harry gestures towards his chest. “Your name tag.”

Looking down at his chest, Louis sees a little name tag that does in fact say Liam. He holds in a snort, chooses instead to offer Harry a smile. “What can I get you?”

“Well, _Liam_ ,” Harry starts smugly, and Louis has to try really hard not to burst into laughter, “I just wanted a hot chocolate if that’s alright.”

“More than alright, curly,” Louis replies, because hot chocolate is actually one of the few drinks that he can actually make.

As he’s heading over to grab a cup, he hears Harry protest, “My name’s Harry though.”

“What do you want me to do about that?” Louis calls back, ignoring the way his heart is hammering in his chest. Honestly, they’re just _talking_. There’s no need for him to get so worked up over it. He’s no longer seventeen and in love with the stranger singing to him on a stage at a lame Halloween party.

No, it’s much worse because he’s twenty and in love with the stranger with a sweet smile that’s ordering hot chocolate at a coffee shop.

Louis is pulled out of his thoughts by Harry replying to him with, “Call me by my name?”, phrasing it like a question. Louis laughs quietly before he can help himself, shaking his head slightly while pulling out the hot chocolate mix from one of the cupboards.

“Only if you call me by mine,” Louis retorts, letting his lips spread into a teasing smile. It seems to confuse Harry to the point of being speechless because for the next two minutes, while Louis makes his drink, Harry doesn’t say a thing.

Louis sets Harry’s hot chocolate on the counter before entering the price into the cash register. “Two pounds,” he informs, tapping his fingers on the counter to keep himself distracted from Harry’s rose colored lips.

Harry’s expression is bemused as he hands over the money and takes the hot chocolate. Louis can’t really help it when he laughs again and turns to face in the opposite direction, calling out, “Liam!”

There’s a loud crash before Liam shows up at the front of the Employees Only door, eyes tired with sleep. “What happened?”

“Your break ended two minutes ago,” Louis answers impishly, walking over to Liam and untying his apron as he goes. “Here you go.”

Liam mumbles a thanks, taking the apron with one hand and wiping his eyes with the other. Louis smiles back beatifically, but then reaches out and pinches one of his nipples. Liam makes a rather high pitched noise that sends Louis running back toward his couch, laughing the entire time.

“You’re such an arsehole,” he hears Liam shout behind him indignantly.

Louis turns to blow him a kiss in response, eyes straying to Harry who’s watching him with an amused expression. And because he’s feeling particularly daring, he winks before turning around and settling back into his corner with his laptop.

He doesn’t put his headphones in yet, though, waiting for the sound of the door so that he knows Harry’s left. Instead, he hears a quiet murmuring first and by the time he sits up straight to catch sight of what’s going on, the bell dings and Harry is gone.

Louis narrows his eyes at Liam who has his own earphones in now, wiping the counter with a rag. Staring at Liam doesn’t do him any good though, so eventually he goes back to doing his own homework.

It’s only two hours later when he’s leaving that Liam stops him on his way out and hands him a slip of paper.

“What’s this?” Louis wonders suspiciously as his fingers close around the piece of paper.

Liam shrugs, muttering, “That curly bloke told me to give it to you.”

That answers the question quite effectively and Louis rolls his eyes, giving Liam a quick hug before venturing out into the pouring rain.

Once he gets his umbrella open, he unfolds the piece of paper to see a bunch of numbers scribbled followed by _Text me with your name if you fancy… :) .x_

Louis laughs in disbelief, shaking his head slightly before tucking the paper back into his pocket. It seems fate’s not the only one determined.

✿ ✿ ✿

(14:54)

 _Louis_.

(15:01)

**Who’s this?**

(15:02)

 _Louis_.

(15:03)

**Okaaaay… Do I know you Louis?**

(15:04)

_Not particularly :)_

(15:06)

**Then how did you get my number, Louis?**

(15:07)

_A little fairy gave it to me .. how the hell do you think Harold ?_

(15:09)

**So you clearly know who I am… Should I be scared? Are you going to murder me in my sleep?**

(15:10)

_I’m considering it !_

(15:11)

**Consider me officially scared then.**

(15:12)

_This was stupid .. forget I texted you ._

(15:13)

**Oh no, come on! Don’t go! We were just getting to know one another, Louis.**

(15:15)

**Louis?**

(15:20)

(15:21)

**L**

**O**

**U**

**I**

**S**

(15:21)

_What in the world are you doing ?!_

(15:22)

**Getting your attention.**

(15:23)

_…_

(15:25)

**Well it worked, didn’t it?**

(15:27)

_Yeah I guess so .._

_(15:28)_

_Ok Harry let’s make a deal :)_

(15:29)

**Ooooh, a deal. What are we making a deal about?**

(15:30)

_Alright so I’ve got a bit of a relationship problem .._

(15:31)

**Tell me everything. Hit me. Come on. Let’s do this.**

(15:33)

_… You didn’t even hear the deal ?_

(15:34)

**I don’t care, just tell me everything.**

(15:37)

**… What I mean is I’d love to help.**

(15:40)

_Alright .._

(15:41)

_So I really like this one bloke .. but I don’t know him that well .. but I swear he’s my soulmate . Do you think I should still ask him out ?_

(15:43)

**Sure! There’s no harm in asking. The worst they can say is no, right?**

(15:44)

_That’s massively unhelpful Harry . :/_

(15:50)

**Sorry.. :(**

(15:52)

_Not your fault .. it’s whatever . Stupid anyways ._

(15:54)

**It’s not stupid! I promise it’s not stupid.**

(15:55)

_Don’t worry about it :) How’s your day Harold ?_

(15:57)

**Heyyyyyy… Are you sure? We can talk about it if you want.**

(15:57)

**My day was good though. This random bloke named Louis started texting me so that’s always fun..**

(16:00)

_You know what ,_

(16:01)

**No, what?**

(16:02)

_… Nothing . what’s up anyways ? Other than me apparently .._

(16:04)

**Well, I’m doing homework right now. I’ve got a class in two hours. Not that fun to be honest.**

(16:05)

_What’s your major ?_

(16:07)

**Law. What’s yours? If you’re in Uni, I guess… I mean. I don’t know who you are.**

(16:09)

_Yes I’m in Uni for fuck’s sake I’m not a predator Harold .._

(16:10)

**You said it, not me!**

(16:12)

_Well you implied it .._

(16:13)

**Fine. I apologise then. Find it in your heart to forgive me?**

(16:15)

_Only because I’m a good person . otherwise you’d be right fucked wouldn’t you ?_

(16:18)

**Suppose so. Thanks for being a good person, Lou.**

(16:20)

_Don’t let it go to your curly head !_

(16:21)

**How do you know my head is curly?**

(16:25)

_Don’t worry abt it .. :)_

(16:26)

**_Alright… But hey. Ask that guy out, okay? Do it for me._ **

(16:30)

_… We’ll see . Bye Harryyyyyy !_

(16:31)

**Wait, what? Bye?**

(16:32)

**Louis?**

(16:34)

**Where did you go? I’m so confused…**

(16:36)

**Alright, bye then… Talk soon?**

✿ ✿ ✿

Louis is on the hunt for a comfy pair of joggers when he feels something like butterflies flutter in his stomach. He stops rummaging through the piles he’s going through to look around the shop, see if anyone else is around.

He’s at Topman and it’s rather early in the morning so he didn’t expect anyone to be in the shop. He was right for the most part because when he first came in, it was just him and the other employees.

For the most part, he’s kept himself occupied with looking for the perfect pair of joggers, but now there’s something stirring inside of him, telling him to stop and take in his surroundings. He’s not sure what the cause of the feeling is, so he decides to disregard it, going back to picking through the clothes.

One of the sales associates is giving him a dirty look, but he’s ignoring it even though he knows it’s rightfully earned. Eventually, if only to get away from the glare, he switches over from piles to look through racks instead. He’s on a first name basis with some of the workers around here, but that bloke is an unfamiliar one and Louis doesn’t fancy getting kicked out for making a mess.

That’s why Louis finds himself at a rack of shirts, deciding he might as well look for his own size. He pushes most of the shirts down the rack and reaches for the one in his size.

And then he realizes that there’s someone grinning at him on the opposite side of the rack.

“What the _fuck_?” Louis asks, his voice raising dangerously high because he definitely did not expect to see Harry here. “You can’t just do _that_.”

Harry offers him a dubious look before shrugging. “What did I do?” he asks innocently, and Louis sighs exasperatedly, putting the shirt back on the rack.

Louis remembers his conversation with Harry from a few days previous, along with the fact that he’s completely and utterly in love with him. It takes a second to build his courage up, but he somehow manages and shoots Harry a bright smile. “Nothing. Can I ask you a question?”

Harry stares blankly at him for a second, seeming momentarily struck. Louis raises an eyebrow, but then Harry blinks, snapping out of it and nodding. “Yeah, go for it,” he urges, looking slightly too eager.

Louis narrows his eyes at him for a second, but the moment quickly passes. “Do you have plans for Halloween?” he asks, instead of going straight for it because he’s not _that_ brave.

It doesn’t seem to matter because the way that Harry’s eyes light up shows that he knows exactly what Louis intends to ask. He doesn’t give it away though, instead replies, “No, I’m as free as a bird.”

Unable to stop himself, Louis snorts, but nods anyway. “Would you fancy spending it with me?”

“Yes, _Louis_ , that would be wonderful,” Harry answers, a bit too smug.

Louis furrows his eyebrows in confusion before he realizes that he didn’t tell Harry his name and that Harry must’ve figured out that the person texting him was, in fact, Louis.

Instead of saying this out loud, Louis leans forward, enjoying the way Harry’s eyes widen fractionally the closer he gets. “It’s a date then,” he whispers in Harry’s ear, biting back his laughter.

He hears Harry swallow loudly, though, which only further amuses Louis before the taller boy nods. “It’s a date.”

✿ ✿ ✿

“What are you supposed to be?” Louis wonders incredulously, stealing the hat off of Harry’s head to see if it’s actually made of straw.

Harry pouts petulantly at him before mumbling, “I’m a farmer. Sorry we can’t _all_ be James Bond.”

“Well that would defeat the purpose, wouldn’t it?” Louis retorts, placing the fedora back on the taller boy, even if it requires stretching a bit. Their height difference isn’t appreciated on Louis’ side.

Louis somehow got conned into going trick or treating with a little girl that Harry babysits named Lux. And normally he would complain, except he loves kids and he hasn’t been able to go trick or treating with sisters in three years. And as it is, Harry seems to love kids as much as him, if the way he treats Lux is any indication. Louis notes that away for some time later.

It’s after some time that Harry speaks up again, watching Lux waddle over to another door step. “You really do look good though, if I failed to mention.”

Louis will never admit how his cheeks flush red in response, blaming it on the lighting, when he replies, “Yeah, well, you’re not so bad yourself, Styles.”

By the end of the night, when Louis is walking Harry to his dorm,he realizes that he sort of really likes Harry and wants to take him on more dates and kiss him sometimes or maybe all the time and also he’s really in love.

That’s why when they reach Harry’s door, he leans up and presses his lips to Harry’s before the younger boy can say anything, and then pulls away almost as quickly. “Happy Halloween, Harry,” he says.

Harry stares back at him dazedly. Only when Louis snaps his fingers in front of his face does Harry’s expression clear up. “Oh. Um. Happy Halloween, Louis. Or… Happy Hallouisween?”

Louis stares at him blankly for a second before he shakes his head in disbelief and promptly bursts into laughter. “You’re something else, Harry.”

Or maybe Harry is everything that’s good in the world, all compacted into one person. It’s all a bit confusing. It’s also possible that Harry’s just _his_ everything. He’ll find out with time.

✿ ✿ ✿

Louis wakes up to an empty bed.

The spot next to him is still warm and Louis takes a second to burrow into that warmth, resting his face against a pillow that isn’t his. It smells of apples and a flash of green eyes prompts Louis to roll out of bed.

He yawns, covering his mouth before stretching his arms above his head. He can hear the shower running and it brings a smile to his face.

On any other morning he might join in, but on this one, he simply opts for brushing his teeth.

The bathroom door is unlocked and now that Louis is closer, he can hear a soft humming that he could recognize anywhere, and it only makes his smile widen as he pushes the door open.

“Morning sunshine,” he greets playfully. Harry’s head pokes out from behind the shower curtain, eyes glittering with delight. “Happy Halloween.”

“Care to join me?” Harry offers, grinning. Louis snorts, reaching over to shove his head lightly.

Harry’s so beautiful that Louis’ heart aches just to look at him sometimes. He’s not the fifteen year old that Louis got thrown on stage with anymore—he’s twenty two with soft brown curls that come past the base of his neck, tattoos along his ribcage, running past his heart of gold, and the same green eyes that Louis first knew.

Despite this, Louis declines his offer with a slight shake of his head. “Maybe next time,” he relents when he sees Harry’s pout. He doesn’t dare to look a second longer otherwise he’ll give in to anything and everything that his boy wants from him.

He’s on a mission today; he can’t afford to be distracted, even if it’s by his favorite distraction.

Reaching past Harry’s pink toothbrush, he grabs his own red one and brushes his teeth, pointedly ignoring the knot in his stomach.

“Are you doing anything today?” Louis asks after he’s spit out the toothpaste in his mouth, wonders briefly if Harry’s already brushed his teeth. He’s also wondering how inappropriate it would be to pull Harry out of the shower just to kiss him.

Harry hums for a moment longer before he sticks his head back out of the shower to shake it, hair dripping wet and water splashing all over Louis.

Louis gapes at him and Harry giggles, blowing him a kiss.

“You’re a _menace_ ,” Louis hisses, reaching for the towel closest to him and Harry just smiles.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” Harry replies, looking far too smug for his own good. “No, I haven’t got any plans today, aside from trick or treating with you tonight. Just need to go to the Apple store to fix my phone later. The cracked screen is really bothering me.”

Louis makes a face at him that probably comes out fonder than he intends. “Well then, you shouldn’t have handed your phone off to the first baby you saw, should you have?”

“You know _what_?” Harry retorts, and when Louis raises his eyebrows in question, all he does is sigh petulantly. “Let me live, Lou.”

“Wasn’t aware I was trying to kill you, but alright,” Louis agrees, and the knot in his stomach tightens the tiniest bit. “I suppose I’ll let you live for the time being.”

Harry rolls his eyes. He’s still standing in the shower with his wet hair in his face and Louis is so incredibly endeared that he drops his towel in favor of closing the distance between them and pulling Harry into a kiss.

“Might as well have joined me,” Harry mumbles against his lips. Louis pulls away to shake his head, but Harry pulls him right back in, pressing them closer together, Louis’ shirt almost completely soaked now. “You can still join me, you know.”

Louis breathes a laugh into Harry’s mouth before pulling away using the little restraint that he still has left. “Sorry mate,” he apologizes, ignoring how breathless Harry leaves him. “I’ve got things to take care of.”

“Or you could take care of me,” Harry suggests, licking his lips and blinking down at Louis coquettishly.

It requires a deep breath to clear his head, but Louis eventually manages to take a step back, pointing an accusatory finger at Harry. “Stop that,” he demands as Harry just continues to blink at him. “No, Haz, come on,” he says, eventually taking to pleading.

Harry’s face breaks into a smile before he shrugs. “Sorry, Lou.”

“No, you’re not,” Louis mutters, watching Harry’s smile grow and taking another deep breath. “I really do have things to take care of, but meet me at the usual spot at seven tonight?”

“It’s a date,” Harry replies before puckering his lips expectantly. Louis sighs exasperatedly, but steps in to give him a swift peck on the lips nonetheless.

✿ ✿ ✿

 _I roll and I roll ‘till I change my luck_.

“If you don’t stop pacing, I will not hesitate to cut your legs off,” Zayn threatens, Niall raising a beer in agreement. “It’ll make a nice decoration for the kids to see when they come for treats.”

“You’re going to be _fine_ ,” Niall adds from the side.

Louis scowls and continues to pace, just to spite the both of them. “This is the most important thing I’ve ever done in my life. I think I’m allowed to pace, but thanks.”

Zayn casts him a judgmental look and Louis shoots him the bird without looking over. He does the same for Niall when the tosser starts to laugh.

“Come on, you’ve got no reason to be this worried,” Zayn complains, pushing Niall’s feet off his lap, Louis turning just in time to get smacked upside the head.

Louis inhales sharply in surprise and Zayn turns him around, hands on either of his shoulders. “Louis, I’m being serious.”

The thing is that Louis knows Zayn is right—he knows it, but the box in his pocket feels like it weighs a million bricks.

“What if he says no?” Louis worries.

That earns him another smack upside the head along with a harsh glare. From the couch, Niall tosses a spoon that hits Louis in the back. He figures he might deserve it a little, but he’s not going to tell either of them that.

“Louis, I’ve known you for five years, and do you know what the first thing you said to me about Harry was?” Zayn asks, fingers digging into Louis’ shoulder blades almost painfully.

Louis sighs because he knows what Zayn is talking about and he nods slowly. “I said I’d met my soulmate.”

“Exactly,” Zayn replies smugly, hands dropping to his side. “You and Harry have always been a sure thing, babe. Don’t start forgetting that now.”

“I’m still waiting on that thank you,” Niall throws in.

Louis considers glaring at him, but then decides he’d rather steal some of Niall’s ice cream instead. He falls onto the couch beside Niall, stealing his bowl and amazingly enough, the blond man lets him. Louis narrows his eyes before slowly saying, “Thank you, Niall.”

Niall grins. “You’re welcome. Now stop being so damn nervous, Tommo. Why wouldn’t Harry want to spend the rest of his life with you? Let’s be real now.”

Louis just huffs and goes to shove a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth, but then stops short when he sees the tattoo on his wrist—the rope twisted into an infinity sign. He remembers the box in his pocket again and drops the spoon back into the bowl, handing it to Zayn who takes it without a complaint.

Brushing his fingers along his tattoo, he realizes that Zayn is right. He and Harry are a sure thing—they’re permanent. They’re infinite.

“He’s going to say yes,” Louis murmurs to himself, and he hears Zayn chuckling quietly behind him, but he chooses to ignore them in favor of standing up and grabbing his jacket off the chair he hung it on earlier.

As he’s heading out the door, he hears Niall call, “You better be an engaged man the next time I see you!” and Louis smiles to himself because the odds seem to be in favor of that.

 _I rolled and I rolled ‘till I changed my luck_.

✿ ✿ ✿

It’s chilly outside, is the first thing that Harry notices.

There are leaves of all colors on the ground and Harry is reminded of why his favorite season is autumn. He loves all the colors and he loves the chill in the air and the way everything is coming to an end, only to start with a new beginning soon enough.

Most importantly he loves that autumn is when he met Louis.

Under his boots, leaves crunch and Harry pulls his coat tighter around himself, stopping the cold from sneaking in.

Usually on Halloween night, he would be dressed with Louis and his sisters, taking them trick-or-treating. This year it’s just the two of them and Harry had assumed they were still going trick-or-treating anyway, until he got a text from Louis telling him not to dress up, but to still meet him at their usual spot.

Their usual spot isn’t their Halloween spot—it’s just _their_ spot. Where they find each other when they need to.

It’s at the edge of a park, a small bridge over a similarly small stream. Harry has the route there memorized to the point he could walk there in his sleep if Louis asked him to.

When he’s close to the bridge, he hears a twig snap behind him and suddenly there’s a hand over his mouth.

Harry nearly screams because it _is_ Halloween after all and some people are insane, but then he recognizes the feel of the other hand on his waist and he relaxes, settling back against Louis’ touch.

Louis’ hand drops from his mouth and Harry nudges it with his nose before saying, “You could’ve just tapped me like a normal person.”

“But where’s the fun in that?” Louis replies, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek and Harry smiles despite himself. “You don’t love me because I’m normal.”

Harry pretends to think about it for a moment before his smile betrays him. “No, I love you because you’re you,” he admits, turning around in Louis’ arms.

He feels Louis’ own lips spread into a smile against his skin before the older man’s lips drift to his ear and he whispers, “Do you trust me?”

Harry blink in surprise but nods, murmuring, “Implicitly.”

“Then trust me enough to tie this blindfold on yourself? I’ve got a surprise for you,” Louis tells him quietly before Harry feels a piece of cloth slip into his hands.

He stares down at the fabric for half a second before his hands move to tie it around his eyes and Louis’ hands come up to help him.

Once the blindfold is secure around his eyes, Louis’ hand slips into his and Harry easily lets his boyfriend guide him across the park.

He knows when they’re at the bridge because he hears the sound of running water and suddenly Louis stops, mumbling, “Wait here,” so Harry does as told.

Louis’ voice comes again a minute later, a simple, “You can take it off now!”

Harry reaches behind his head to untie the blindfold and pull it down over his eyes.

Louis isn’t on the bridge but instead behind a bench that’s a few feet away from the end of it. There’s four pumpkins on the bench and Harry tilts his head in confusion.

He wants to ask but the look on Louis’ face tells him not to—at least not just yet.

“You know I met you seven years ago,” Louis says, a smile tugging at his lips and Harry nods, a brief memory of the karaoke at Niall’s awful sixth form Halloween party. “You made me believe in love at first sight.”

Harry laughs, slightly startled, but Louis’ expression is still warm, almost golden in the light from the street lamp nearby. “You’re a sap,” he informs his boyfriend, and Louis just shrugs.

“A bit,” he agrees, and then bites his lip the way he does when he’s nervous. Harry wonders what he has to be nervous about. “But there’s no one else I’d rather be a sap for.”

“Sap,” Harry repeats, but gentler, and finds himself taking a step toward Louis.

Louis must notice too because he shakes his head suddenly, eyes wide. “Don’t do that, love. You’ll ruin the surprise!”

Harry gives him a confused look and Louis gestures for him to wait a moment before he produces a lighter out of his pocket.

For a moment Harry is unsure what he’s doing until he sees Louis reach inside the pumpkins on the bench and light the candle inside of them. They’re facing the wrong direction so Harry can’t see the design on them yet, but he assumes that’s part of the surprise.

Once all four pumpkins are lit, Harry watches Louis put the lighter away before the older man grins at him.

Even amidst his confusion, Harry is helpless from returning that grin.

“Ready for your surprise?” Louis asks, and Harry nods eagerly, taking another step forward. Louis casts him a warning look and Harry falters. “Alright, good.”

Louis turns the first pumpkin and Harry realizes rather quickly that it’s not a design, but rather a word. _Will_.

“Will,” he says aloud to himself, just as Louis turns the next pumpkin around. _You_.

Before Harry can finish saying _you_ out loud, Louis turns the next pumpkin and it says _Marry_ and suddenly Harry is speechless.

The last word is to be expected, but it still comes as a shock to Harry when he sees _Me?_ on the last pumpkin.

 _Will You Marry Me_?

“Oh my God,” comes out of Harry’s mouth without his permission; he’s more than a little breathless. It only gets worse when Louis comes out from behind the bench and gets down on one knee in front of him with a nervous grin.

Harry doesn’t know if he’s ever felt as unbalanced as he feels right now. One of his hands comes to grip the bridge railing while the other covers his gaping mouth in disbelief.

“I know this is going to be extremely long and stupid and probably really sappy but bear with me, alright?” Louis checks, and Harry’s brain works just enough for him to nod in agreement.

Louis chuckles quietly, but Harry can hear the edge in it, knows exactly how tense he is and somehow it makes him fall in love with Louis all over again.

When Louis pulls out a small black box and opens it to reveal a white gold ring with an infinity symbol that resembles Louis’ tattoo far too much, Harry’s knees feel a little weak.

“Right, so… Hi. That’s the first word I ever said to you, did you know that? Well, of course you did, it’s tattooed on your arm, but that’s not really the point. You said oops, and I said hi, but even before those words came out of our mouths, I knew you were the one for me,” Louis tells him. Harry doesn’t know if it’s possible to love anyone more than he loves Louis.

“Somewhere it was written that you and I would collide the same way that stars do and I thank _my_ lucky stars for that. You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I don’t know how I ever lived before I met you,” Louis continues, biting his bottom lip, and--if Harry’s not mistaken--his hands are shaking.

Harry would reach for one, but he’s afraid he might fall over if he tries.

“I never used to care for Halloween, but now it’s my favorite holiday and, _fuck_ , there’s no one else to blame except for you. You’ve made not only Halloween, but every day of the year better for me because I get to spend each and every one of them with you.”

Louis stops suddenly, taking a deep breath, and Harry comes to the realization that Louis’ eyes are unusually shiny in the pale moonlight. If Harry weren’t rooted to the spot, he would probably drop to his knees and kiss Louis until the brightness in his eyes ran out (which will never happen… Harry is more than okay with that).

“I want that always, though,” Louis starts again after clearing his throat. “I want every day of forever with you. I never believed in soulmates or fate, but you’re it, Harry. You’re the one for me and I know that with my entire heart and then some. You make me so happy that sometimes I think you’re not real because nobody could possibly know me the way that you do. Nobody could love me the way you do. It’s been so long—seven years—and I can say without a doubt that nobody saves me the way you do. We’re infinite, Harry. Invincible even. Maybe fireproof? I don’t really know what I’m saying and I swear I had a better speech planned, but when I’m around you my brain stops working. I’m so fucking in love with you that I can’t explain it, but I promise that I’ll spend every day for the rest of my life trying.”

Louis finally smiles at him, so wide that his eyes crinkle in the corners as he says, “So if it’s alright with you, I’d like to do that; spend the rest of my life trying to explain my love for you… but to do that, I need you do something for me.”

“Anything,” Harry murmurs, dropping his hand from his mouth so Louis can hear him more clearly, even though he knows what Louis is going to ask.

Louis seems to appreciate it anyway if the soft laugh that escapes his lips is anything to go by. “Harry Edward Styles, will you marry me?” he asks, eyes filled with a light that Harry swears to never let die.

“Yes,” Harry whispers, nodding his head before a smile breaks across from his face and he repeats, “Yes,” even louder. “Yes, yes, yes. Please. Yes.”

This time when Louis laughs, it’s louder and brighter. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Harry replies breathlessly, finally letting go of the bridge railing because he knows that even if he falls, Louis will catch him. “Please.”

He’s never seen Louis smile the way he is now as he takes Harry’s hand and slips the ring on.

As soon as it’s on, Harry pulls Louis up so he can press him up against the railing and finally taste the moonlight on his lips. “I love you so much,” he breathes into Louis’ mouth, pressing his fingers into the older man’s hips.

He feels Louis smile into the kiss, one hand woven through his curls and the other on the back of his neck. “I love you too,” Louis informs before leaning away which makes Harry pout.

It’s turns out fine though because Louis takes Harry’s left hand in one of his own and points at the ring with a grin on his face. “For an infinite amount of time.”

“I look forward to it,” Harry tells him, and it’s the most honest thing he’s ever said in his entire life. He rests his forehead against Louis’, squeezing their hands together. “I’m glad this was a treat and not a trick.”

Louis snorts and Harry bites down on his bottom lip to keep from smiling too widely. “That was awful, I might just take the entire proposal back,” he teases.

“Sorry, no take backs,” Harry replies easily, and he takes his first look at the ring on his own hand. It’s strange to see it there, but it feels right, feels like it belongs there. He looks back up at Louis and wiggles his fingers in front of him. “You put a ring on it. You’re stuck with me.”

He expects Louis to banter back but instead his boyfriend—his _fiancé_ ’s face suddenly grows soft and he nods slowly. “Happy Halloween, Harry.”

“Happy Halloween, Lou,” Harry murmurs, and thinks that this might be the best Halloween yet.

Later, Harry finds out that on the inside of the ring it says _always in my heart L._ He knows right then in his heart that there’s no one he will ever love more than Louis, in this life or in any.

He’s strangely alright with that.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I looove to see your comments and kudos also make me happy so leave me a little Halloween treat? Hope you all liked it!
> 
> My tumblr is [lourrynavy](http://lourrynavy.tumblr.com) and my twitter is [deepestIove](http://twitter.com/deepestIove) if you ever want to say hi! :)


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